Supremely Self-Sufficient

This is how Rabbi Meir described the Jewish nation based on the passage in the Torah (Devarim 32:6) which states that 'He made you and established you."

Unlike other nations who imported kings from foreign lands, Jews could proudly claim that their priests, their prophets, their ministers and their kings were all from their own ranks.

When G-d laid down the rules for appointing a king to rule over His chosen people, He stipulated that the king must be "one from among your brethren" (Devarim 17:15), and throughout history Jews refrained from importing a ruler.

This sense of self-sufficiency also found expression in the words of the Prophet Zechariah (10:4) who said that G-d would remember His people and that from them would come forth the cornerstone and foundation stake of the nation.

Chullin 56b

What the Sages Say

"An indication that an animal is a treifah (non-kosher) is its inability to give birth."

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